Paper
by LoungeLizard
Summary: Twilight goes shopping, and finds herself curious about the pony who owns the paper store.


**Paper**

An MLP:FiM fanfiction by celestial_okami

Characters: Twilight Sparkle, Lounge Lizard (OC)

A small bell softly rang its jingling notes as the front door into the only paper store in Ponyville swung open. The warm air of summer and the cry of cicadas flowed through the quiet shop for a few seconds as the door slowly creaked closed, the bell jingling again behind the violet unicorn that had entered.

_That thing is so quiet, I wonder if the owner can actually hear it_, Twilight Sparkle thought to herself. She glanced back over her empty saddlebags at the small noisemaker dangling from its red string as she took a step into the unfamiliar store, her hooves clopping softly on the wooden floor.

"Is… is anyone there? I'm here to buy some paper…" Twilight called out, her voice trailing off as the shop answered back with serene stillness and silence. The light of the setting sun cast long shadows from few passerby in the town street across the shelves inside, their noises muffled by the thick walls and double paned glass windows.

A folded sign on a small table by the door read 'Please come in', tilted at angle as if to invite the reader down the center of small isles that took up the main of the shop, each stocked with many different makes and colors of paper and miscellaneous crafts. Taking the unspoken invitation Twilight began her journey between the center aisles, her hooves making the floor board creak quietly as she glanced uncertainly at the many choices before her.

Twilight Sparkle had never actually visited this business herself, despite having purchased its wares and passed by its door on the way back from her visits to Sweet Apple Acres many times. She had always sent Spike out to supply her with her needed scrolls, seal wax, envelopes, ink, and other supplies whenever she ran out. She had always let Spike pick out whatever he thought would best suit her needs, and his choices were always satisfactory. _He is my number one assistant after all, _she thought to herself with a smile. Without Spike, she would definitely have a much more trouble handling day-to-day life in Ponyville.

Shaking off her reverie, Twilight glanced back at the many options before her as she walked to the end of the aisle, reading off the labels under the bins on each tier. _What kind does Spike usually get?_, she thought to herself. _Letterhead? High fiber? Birch, driftwood... ultra dense? Acid free? Spike doesn't buy hoof-made for me... does he?_ Twilight squinted at the labels before her, flicking her tail absently in frustration._ I haven't read __**anything**__ about all these different kinds of paper... much less know which would be the better deal. Ugh, I wish there was just a pile that said 'scrolls' in it so I could just buy those and be done with it!_

"Owlicious, if you were any good at conversation or manual labor you can bet your feathered tail you'd be here instead of me, too." Twilight groaned in frustration, turning slightly and noding her head at her saddlebags as her horn began glowing with a starry purple aura. The left pouch began glowing as well, the strap un-fastening itself and the quickly-scribbled shopping list left to her by Spike floating free as she manipulated it with her unicorn magic, shifting to the side and out of the large shadow being cast from behind her so she could better read-

Twilight froze in sudden realization, her eyes going wide and a bolt shooting down her spine. Her whole body tensed in shock as she slowly became aware of the presence looming over her. The baritone voice of its owner barely had time to utter the words "Can I help y-" before Twilight's instinctive reaction cut him off. Stomping her front hooves down hard Twilight kicked out her back legs at her aggressor, striking the other pony square in the chest with enough force to make him stumble back and slump to the ground with a stunned groan.

Twilight's shock passed as her mind caught up with her hooves. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I didn't mean- You just came up on me so suddenly, I did it by accident." She said as she quickly turned around in the aisle to face the other pony, leaning down to offer support.

The other pony shook his head a few times as he slouched forward, lifting himself off the floor of the shop and to his hooves with great effort. Twilight's mouth fell open a little as she watched the unicorn stretch his long legs and rise to his full height, towering over her by at least a few apples. _Dear Luna, he's even taller than Big Macintosh..._

"Ack... chahh... that really hurt. I'm going to be sore for a week..." The other unicorn said, grimacing at the pain as he opened his pale blue eyes and looked back at the concerned Twilight. The unicorn sported a thin lavender-grey coat was ruffled at the front where Twilight's hooves had struck him, but much to her relief no blood or broken skin was visible from Twilight's quick inspection. His mane was a deep auburn-red almost the color of wine, cut short at the back and trimmed to his eyes at the front for the summer as many ponies did. His tail fell straight and loose and unbrushed just past his knees, emphasizing the unicorn's impressively long and sleek legs supporting his otherwise plain body. It gave him a simple but handsome attractiveness. His only other feature was his cutie mark of a single folded white paper crane on both flanks.

Taking a deep breath Twilight bowed her head and tried her best to be apologetic. "Hello, my name's Twilight Sparkle... I'm REALLY sorry I kicked you like that, you startled me and I just kicked on instinct.. I didn't mean to hurt you so please don't kick me out of your store because I would really like to not have to wait 3 months to get paper shipped from Canterlot." Twlight giggled nervously and smiled, uncertain what the other unicorn's response would be._ Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that you shouldn't kick or otherwise inflict unwarranted violence on somepony you just met and intend on purchasing goods from. Its the fastest way to lose the trust of every business in town aside from burning their shop down. I will submit a full report to you on the subject as soon as I find a source of paper on which to write it._

Surprisingly the other unicorn laughed a little, voice shaking from the blow Twilight had inflicted but smiling back nonetheless. "N-no its quite alright! I'll be fine! I should know better than to approach an unaware filly like that. My name's Lounge Lizard... ow, it stings..." Taking a moment to straighten himself, he looked up and met Twilight's eyes with his own, the two finding themselves staring at each other for an awkward moment. _She's kinda kinda cute for a filly... _Lounge Lizard thought to himself for a second, admiring Twilight's features. A small blush creept onto his face as Twilight's eyes remained locked on him, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "Um... miss...?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Can I... help you find what you're looking for?" The lavender unicorn said to Twilight as stared up the infinitely tall bookshelves of Canterlot's Royal Library. Beams of heavenly light shone through his deep auburn mane and across his sleek, beautiful coat as he flipped his head back. his piercing blue eyes gazing down at her from the ladder he perched upon high up on the shelf, telling her he was ready to fulfill her every desire.<em>

"_Dülmenstein's Relativity: The Special and the General Theory... please..." Twilight spoke breathlessly, pages and pages of paper streaming down around her in slow motion as she gazed up at the hoofed beauty before her... Lounge Lizard was his name?_

_A chorus of pegasi could be heard somewhere overhead as the other unicorn gracefully leaned out from the ladder by his long gorgeous legs and grasped the sought for book in his teeth, freeing it from its high perch. With a sweep of his neck he let loose the item into the air to fall, his horn glowing at it's tip like the light of a distant star as he magically dragged a podium from some impossibly infinite distance to intercept the book._

_Lounge Lizard descended from the ladder at the speed of a Sonic Rainboom, landing with perfect poise before gently pulling the female unicorn close to him with his front hoof, gazing down into her awestruck face and whispering silently to her, "Is there anything else you... desire of me, Miss Twilight...?"_

* * *

><p>Lounge Lizard was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat and shuffling awkwardly. "Well... *cough* Um... don't worry about me, I'll be fine." A few seconds passed as Twilight continued to stare as if she hadn't heard a thing he had said, making Lounge Lizard sweat nervously. "Did you... come to ah... buy something perhaps?"<p>

Twilight blinked slowly at this, the other unicorn's voice piercing her daydreams. "Buy...? I... yes! I mean- yes I'm here to buy something! Paper!" she blurted out. Realizing she had been staring, she quickly turned around to hide her deep crimson blush. _Get a grip Twilight, you're acting like you've just met your first handsome colt back at Celestia's Academy and he offered to be your study partner or something. Stay professional!_ "I had a shopping list Spike gave me right... here... somewhere?"

"Is this it...?" Lizard's voice came from behind as he leaned down to the forgotten list laying curled on the floor. Twilight turned to see the unicorn reach out with his hoof, the very tip of his horn glowing with a faint but piercing glow. As the underside of his hoof brushed across the scroll it stuck as if affixed by glue, clinging there tightly as he turned and offered it to the surprised Twilight who levitated it to her with her own magic as the glow from Lizard's horn faded.

Twilight glanced down at the paper briefly before looking back up at the towering unicorn, surprised disbelief coloring her voice. "Yes, thank you. That magic you did just now... I've never seen such specificity in a spell done so casually like that. That sort of focus in a spell would leave most unicorn out of breath, even for a simple adhesion spell. Where did you learn to do magic like that?"

Lizard smiled with embraced modesty at the compliment. "I just went to Canterlot-U like most unicorn around here. I didn't major in spellcraft theory or anything if that's what you're thinking. I actually studied philosophy and psychology. The magic specificity thing... I've just been like that since birth. I have a hard time doing general effect-area spells, but high-specificity magic is just how it it comes out when I try to cast anything. Like... I can't levitate that shopping list of yours by grabbing the whole page with my magic, its too hard. I have to grasp a tiny part of it and pick it up that way. I just use my hoof because it's easier if I focus on myself than whatever I'm manipulating and I don't risk breaking or tearing anything. I'm not really that good at magic either, so I guess its just how I am. Probably has something to do with my special talent, or at least I think so..." Lizard nodded his head up, gesturing over his shoulder to the cutie mark on his flank as his voice trailed off and scrunching his brows together in though for a moment before continuing. "It makes sense to me anyway. Err... anyway I'm rambling. You're probably here to buy something, not listen to me tell my life story, and its getting a bit late if you want to get home by sundown."

Twilight did her best to hide her disappointment. "Oh no, not at all. It was interesting, but yes I probably should get what I came here for and get back to the library or Spike is going to wonder where I am when I get back." _...handsome, smart, pleasant, has a magical condition absolutely begging to be researched? Can we talk more? Please? Maybe come visit the library, have some tea, show you the basement and let me hook you up to my encephalogram__... yeeessss... and then we-_

Lizard's ears perked up. "Did you say Spike? You mean the little purple dragon with green fins who comes here every few days, right?"

Twilight jumped, but regained her composure and nodded. "Yes that's him! He's my assistant at the library here in Ponyville but he was busy today so I came myself."

"Then you're the pony he's always running errands for. He never referred to you by name, just always said he had to get back to work before 'the boss' started wondering if he was slacking off." Lizard chuckled a little, gesturing at the list in Twilight's magical grasp. "Is this list just your usual order? I can just write up a receipt and get you on your way "

Twilight's expression flattened to one of mild annoyance as she levitated the paper back over to Lounge Lizard, who began studying its contents. "I think 'the boss' is going to have to make some executive decisions on employee wages at the next meeting."

"I hope you won't go too hard on him. He's always great company whenever he drops by, since my customers come so infrequently. I guess he wont be pleased with me to hear that his secret has been discovered either.." Lounge Lizard glanced away from the shopping list and chewed at his lip sheepishly for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, he works pretty hard to get everything to you from what I can tell. Looks he wanted to order a few extra reams this time." Lizard continued muttering under his breath as he leviated a pencil to himself from a dish on top of the aisle. He began walking slowly down the lane toward the back of the shop, marking item numbers and prices on Twilight's list while his long tail swished behind him.

Twilight's eyes followed Lizard as he strode past her and down the aisle, and then tried not to stare at the shapely posterior swaying to-and-fro in front of her as she watched the other unicorn saunter down the aisle of paper products. _...handsome, smart, magic research topic candidate, __**and**__ a nice flank? _Twilight paused in her stride, shaking her head for a second before continuing, keeping her head turn down to avoid staring as a blush colored her face again._ Wait, Twilight get a hold of yourself! He hasn't even said anything to make you think he might be interested in you. He's been courteous this whole time... does he already have a fillyfriend? Its not like there are that many attractive and still-available colts in Ponyville, he's probably already taken. I guess I could ask him and find out... _

Lizard's voice snapped Twilight out of her inner dialogue, stopping only inches from walking her face into the other unicorn's posterior as he turned back around to face her. "Well it looks that's it. If you don't mind waiting a few I'll get everything loaded on a cart and I can get it down to the library for you, or I can deliver it in the next few days if you'd like...?"

"I don't mind waiting." Twilight responded, looking out the window at the approaching night as Lizard pushed through the swinging door behind the counter at the back of the shop and entered the stockroom. The sun had sunk below the hills and the remaining light was quickly fading. "Are you sure you're okay delivering this late though? Its almost night and I don't want to trouble you."

"No I don't mind! I'll just lock up after we're done here and make this an after-hours delivery. No problem at all." Lizard could be heard shuffling around in the back room as he pulled various bundles off the shelves with his mouth. "Jsht gifve mh ah fehw minushts okeh?"

Twilight nodded silently to herself as Lizard went about preparing her purchase, feeling a little drained by the whole encounter. _First you kick him, then you apologize to him, then you... I-... I get infatuated, then I get nervous? You don't even know him Twilight. You don't need to be all up and down over somepony you don't really know, even if he is cute... _Twilight looked down at her hooves, kicking a dust mote about uncertainly. _Well, whatever..._

Shaking her head with a sigh, Twilight glanced about back of the shop. The counter Lizard had disappeared behind was decorated with paper samples and price lists, typical for a shop of this kind. Behind the counter near the register was a hefty pile of cushions and pillows laid out on the floor along with a few books, probably enough that with his height Lizard would be able to see over the counter when a customer came in. The thought made Twilight giggle softly. _Well, that's probably why I didn't see him when I came in, I would barely have seen the top of his head even if I had been looking. Huh, I know some of those titles. Lets see... 'Platony's Complete Dialogues,' 'Equestrian Myth and Legend,' ...'Cupcakes for Dummies: A Guide by Pinkie Pie'?_

Raising an eyebrow at this and wondering how Pinkie somehow managed to insert herself in every aspect of life in Ponyville, Twilight walked over to the only other interesting feature of the shop - a small table set lengthwise out from the wall, with a stool on one side conspicuously just tall enough for a small purple dragon to stand on. A small bowl with a few half-eaten gemstones confirmed who its usual occupant might have been. Twilight examined the table curiously. Arranged on the table were small thick wooden rectangles with exotic flower an animal designs on them in red, white, and black. On the side of the table against the wall rested an open box and a few stacks of circular wooden pieces. _These aren't normal playing cards... is this some sort of game? They're arranged for two players and it looks like they match or group somehow... and these wooden tokens, they looks like bits so... this is for scoring or gambling then?_ Twilight levitated one of the cards over to her, examining the design. _Is this... a scroll? And this one is... cherry blossoms?_ _And... this isn't a card, its folded paper? It looks just like his cutie mark. This box... by Celestia, there must be hundreds in here..._

A knock at the door of the shop made Twilight snap her head up in surprise. Lounge Lizard was standing outside with his cart waving through the window at her, ready and waiting. "J-just a moment!" Twilight called back, dropping the origami crane back on the table.

"Ready to go, Miss Sparkle?" Lounge Lizard asked, his horn tip glowing with magic as he closed the door behind Twlight and locked it with a key dangling from from a cord on his neck. The sky was now fully dark, and a light breeze had picked up.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie burst through the door, despite it being locked. "Do you honestly expect anypony to read all this? I am soooooo bored! Get on with it already! I'd love to chat but I need to get back to Poodle Puff's story! See ya!" Then she went back through the door and disappeared in thin air.

Twilight and Lizard both stared dumbfounded and mouths agape at the closed door for a few seconds before turning back to each other.

"I... who..." Lizard stammered, looking like he'd narrowly dodged being struck by lightning.

"That was Pinkie Pie. Don't try to understand it, you'll just get a headache."

Twilight kept her eyes down as the two unicorn walked down the road toward Twilight's Library, the quiet squeaking of the wagon's wheels and the clop of hooves on the dimly lit cobblestone the only noise breaking the silence. _I'm not going to get anywhere by not saying anything... okay Twilight, lets talk about something. Anything._ Taking a deep breath, Twilight turned to the other Unicorn.

"In your store I-"

"So your library-"

Both ponies stopped in their tracks, turning to look at each other awkwardly at simultaneously interrupting each other

"Sorry, you fir-"

"I didn't mean-"

Lounge Lizard chuckled a bit, lowering his head apologetically and smiling. "Ah... sorry Miss Sparkle. Fillies first?"

Twilight chuckled back, lowering her head as well in recognition of his gentlecoltly behavior. "Well.. I kind of wanted to ask some personal questions, if that's alright with you. And please, just Twilight."

"Of course then, Twilight. Ask away."

"Back in your store, I was looking around a bit... what were those card things on the table? I'd never seen anything like that in Equestria before."

"Oh! Those are 'hanafuda' cards from Nippony. It's an island nation kind of far away across the ocean. I have a friend, Matcha Sweet, who I met at Canterlot that lives in a coast town now which does a lot of foreign imports. He found his special talent making confections with ingredients imported from Nippony. Some of the flavors he makes with the stuff is truly bizarre. Anyway, he sent me these cards one time along with some rules on how to play. He knows I like somewhat exotic stuff. The cards are really kind of like normal playing cards, just with pictures representing the months instead of numbers." Lounge Lizard smiled sheepishly. "Spike and I play a lot when he visits, it's a nice little quick distraction and when he wins I give him a discount on your order. He doesn't need to stick around and keep me company, nopony usually does. He's always willing to lend an ear or talk about anything. I really appreciate that he would do something like that for me..." Lounge Lizard's voice trailed off as he faced away from Twilight, looking at the ground.

Twilight remained silent as the two walked onward, unsure of how to respond to the other unicorn's sudden change in mood. _Is he... lonely? I wouldn't have thought of that. He might not have a fillyfriend then... and now I feel guilty for even thinking about him like that. Ugh..._ Twilight grimaced at the unpleasant emotion, but shook her head slightly as she dismissed it._ Well... I should just be up-front and honest if I'm going to ask at all. We're only a few blocks from my library and then I will have missed my chance. If I'm going to say anything I should say it now. Here goes nothing_...

Twilight cleared her throat and tried her best not to make eye contact as she started speaking, "That can't be true. I'm sure you have lots of ponies who would love to do all sorts of things for you. Who wouldn't? You're tall and handsome and polite and smart and there's probably lots of fillies who would love to- I mean, its not like you would have any reason to be lonely in a town like Ponyville." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut tight as she tried to get her words out. "I-I... um... what I'm trying to say is... I... was wondering if you had a fillyfriend b-because I... I kind of... like you."

Twilight waited for the other unicorn's response before realizing that he had stopped in his tracks. Turning around to face Lizard, she saw that he had his head slumped down and ears folded in shame "Oh... by Celestia, I'm sorry I didn't mean to say something that might-"

Lounge sighed, shaking his head. "No... its okay. This happens every so often... Its not your fault. Its just that... I'm..."

"...you?"

"I don't... like... fillies like that. I like other... other colts."

"You don't... like...? "

Lounge Lizard closed his eys as he faced away. "Yes... I'm gay."

Twilight blinked. "You're... but..."

"Yeah."

Twilight was struck speechless. Homosexuality wasn't unusual in Equestria, but it almost always was between mares. The balance of gender favored the birth of fillies, so colts were traditionally expected to father lots of children. Polygyny had never taken root in Equestrian culture. For two male ponies to be in a homosexual relationship wasn't against the law, but it could be the for cause a lot of social stigma for the ponies involved.

Lounge Lizard turned back to face Twilight and resumed his slow walk towards the library, his head still lowered submissively. The feeling of defeat was practically burned on his face, it was so apparent to Twilight. "So... yeah. This happens every now and then. Some filly in town gets eyes for me and I try to be polite without saying anything... Its not that I don't think you're cute or nice, its just... that's how I am. I'm not offended if you would rather not talk to me... I know how it is."

Twilight just stared mouth agape as Lizard walked past her down the street, finding it difficult to form words. She stood there unmoving as he walked down the block, the library waiting just beyond. _Oh Luna, everything I did today has been doing this to him... first I kick him, then I start acting infatuated, and now he thinks I'm going to reject him. And with Spike, it makes sense now... Spike doesn't care about pony tradition so he can act normally around him... He... probably doesn't have any friends here because he worries how other ponies might react. He keeps them at a distance just like did with me. I didn't mean this at all..._ Twilight shook herself free of her initial shock and gritted her teeth, galloping hard to catch up with the other other pony. "W... wait! Wait! WAAAAIIIITTTT!"

Lounge Lizard turned and froze mid-step as Twilight skidded to a half in front of him right at the door to the library. She was panting hard and glaring down the taller unicorn with a determined expression, making him back away uncertainly. "Um... I'll just drop this off right here if you'd like, and I wont bother you anymore. Or if.. you'd prefer I can just leave the wagon and come pick it up tomorr-?"

"I am really, very, truly apologize for treating you the way I did today. I had no idea that you were gay, and I didn't mean to make you feel like you were being set up by my stupid, immature, sillyfilly, foal-like, pegasus-in-the-clouds, hornhu-"

"Err... what?" Lizard said, blinking a few times.

"Um... I meant... I'm sorry. I got caught up on your charm without paying attention to you as a pony. I didn't know you weren't interested in fillies, but that doesn't excuse my behavior. I mean... I don't care that you like other colts like that. Well... I mean, I guess if you weren't I might have other interests... b-but that's beside the point." Twilight sighed, bowing her head and looking to the side as she tried to grasp the words she was looking for. "What I'm trying to say is that... I'd... I'd still like to be your friend."

Lounge Lizard stood there staring back at Twilight, his mouth open slightly as he took in all she had said. "I... I think... I'd like that. I'd like that very much."

Twilight gave a huge sigh, falling back on her haunches in relief. "Good... I'm glad."

Silence prevailed for a few moments as both ponies faced each other. "So... um..."

"Yes?"

"Should I leave you order here or...?"

Twilight chuckled. _Polite as always_. "Right here is fine, I'll bring the wagon by tomorrow. You know... you could come in for some tea, if you'd like?"

Lizard blushed and looked to the side as he shucked the wagon harness, leaving it parked beside her door. "Err... don't you think at this hour that might be a little... improper?"

"Oh... yes it probably is... heh..." Twilight responded sheepishly, turning away and opening the door to her library to hide her embarrassment. _Rarity would faint over a faux pas like that, Twilight. Wow. Good first step._

"Maybe... tomorrow morning then?"

Twilight paused, smiling faintly to herself before responding. _Okay, maybe not so bad after all._ "That would be perfect. I'll come by tomorrow morning, just me. Will you make it home alright?"

Lizard nodded his affirmation, but as Twilight stepped inside her door he spoke again. "And... can I ask one more thing?"

"A question? Um... sure I guess." Twilight turned back to the tall unicorn, curious what the question could be.

"From back in the shop... where did you learn to kick like that?"

"My friend Applejack taught me. Best applebucker this side of Appaloosa."

"Hmm... This pony wouldn't happen to be..."

"Applejack's a filly, Lizard." Twilight giggled.

"Aww..."

-END-

(As author notes are not permitted on , please find them located at any of my other sites on my profile for information about how I wrote this story, and other interesting tidbits.)


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